This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-329192 filed on Oct. 26, 2001; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio device holder for holding a radio device, such as a portable telephone, or the like, and more particularly, to a radio device holder for holding a radio device in a state where the connector on the device side and the connector on the holder side are mutually interconnected.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, desirably, an on-vehicle holder for using a portable telephone (radio device) inside a vehicle (radio device holder) permits easy attachment and detachment of the portable telephone with respect to the on-vehicle holder, whilst holding the portable telephone reliably in such a manner that it does not fall off due to vibrations of the vehicle, or the like.
FIG. 19 and FIG. 20 show a conventional on-vehicle holder A for holding a portable telephone T, wherein a device-side connector Tc for transmitting control signals, and the like, is provided in the lower portion of the case of the aforementioned portable telephone T, and locking recess sections Tr are formed on the left and right-hand sides of the case side sections of the aforementioned portable telephone T.
The on-vehicle holder A, on the other hand, comprises a pocket section Aa for accommodating the lower portion of the case of the aforementioned portable telephone T, and provided inside this pocket section Aa are a holder-side connector Ac for interconnecting with the device-side connector Tc of the portable telephone T, and a pusher Ap provided via a spring As.
Moreover, the on-vehicle holder A has left and right-hand side guard sections Ag which face with the case side portions of the portable telephone T, and lock levers Ar for fixing the portable telephone T in position are provided respectively on these guard sections Ag.
In order to install the portable telephone T in the on-vehicle holder A, the operator pushes the portable telephone T by hand in the direction of the arrow I, in other words, in the direction of insertion of the device-side connector Tc into the holder-side connector Ac, and whilst pressing the pusher Ap with the portable telephone T against the force of the spring As, the device connector Tc is interconnected with the holder-side connector Ac.
Here, when the portable telephone T has been inserted to a position where the device-side connector Tc is fully interconnected with the holder-side connector Ac, the portable telephone T is fixed in position in the on-vehicle holder A by means of the lock levers Ar engaging with the locking recess sections Tr.
In this way, by mutually interconnecting the holder-side connector Ac and the device-side connector Tc, the on-vehicle holder A and the portable telephone T are electrically connected, in addition to which, by engaging the lock levers Ar with the locking recess sections Tr, the portable telephone T is fixed mechanically in the on-vehicle holder A.
On the other hand, when removing the installed portable telephone T from the on-vehicle holder A, the operating buttons Ab provided on the lock levers Ar should be pressed, thereby releasing the engagement of the lock levers Ar with the locking recess sections Tr.
When the engagement between the locking recess sections Tr and the lock levers Ar is released, the pusher Ap presses the portable telephone T in the direction of arrow E, in other words, in the direction of detaching the device-side connector Tc from the holder-side connector Ac, due to the elastic return force of the spring As, whereby the device-side connector Tc is removed from the holder-side connector Ac.
In this way, by means of the simple operation of pressing the operating buttons Ab of the lock levers Ar, it is possible to release the mechanical fixing of the portable telephone T in the on-vehicle holder A, whilst also being able to release the electrical connection between the on-vehicle holder A and the portable telephone T.
In the conventional on-vehicle holder A described above, in a state where the portable telephone T is installed in the on-vehicle holder A, the pressing force of the pusher Ap (elastic return force of the spring As) against the portable telephone T must be greater than the interconnecting force between the holder-side connector Ac and the device-side connector Tc, in other words, the tensile load required to remove the device-side connector Tc from the holder-side connector Ac.
However, even if the holder-side connector Ac and the device-side connector Tc are both manufactured by the same company, since there is large variation in the interconnecting force when the two members are mutually connected, it has been difficult to set the pressing load of the pusher Ap to a suitable value.
In other words, if the pressing load of the pusher Ap is too small with respect to the interconnecting force between the holder-side connector Ac and the device-side connector Tc, then even if the operating buttons Ab of the lock levers Ar are pressed, thereby releasing the mechanical fixing of the portable telephone T with respect to the on-vehicle holder A, the device-side connector Tc will still not detach from the holder-side connector Ac.
Moreover, if the pressing load of the pusher Ap is too great with respect to the interconnecting force between the holder-side connector Ac and the device-side connector Tc, then there is a risk that, when the operating buttons Ab of the lock levers Ar are pressed, the portable telephone T receiving strong pressure from the pusher Ap will be propelled out from the on-vehicle holder A and fall to the ground.
In order to resolve problems of this kind, compositions have been devised wherein a stopper S for stopping the portable telephone T is provided in the on-vehicle holder A as illustrated in FIG. 20, and the pressing load of the pusher Ap is set to a high value, and according to this composition, the pressing load of the pusher Ap can be set readily, and the portable telephone T will not fall out from the on-vehicle holder A.
Nevertheless, in the composition described above, when installing a portable telephone T on the on-vehicle holder A, the stopper S forms an impediment and reduces usability, and moreover, if the portable telephone T is inserted into the on-vehicle holder A at an oblique angle from above, in order to avoid the stopper S, then not only does this impair smooth installation due to oblique interconnection of the device-side connector Tc with respect to the holder-side connector Ac, but it may also cause damage by placing unwanted stress on the holder-side connector Ac and the device-side connector Tc.
The present invention was devised with the foregoing in view, an object thereof being to provide a radio device holder which enables smooth and reliable attachment and detachment of a radio device, without requiring a complicated setting operation during design.
The radio device holder according to an aspect of the present invention is a radio device holder comprising:
a holder main unit having a holder-side connector for interconnecting with a device-side connector provided on a radio device;
a tray having a holding section for holding the radio device in a prescribed attitude, the tray being provided movably with respect to the holder main unit, in a direction along which the device-side connector on the radio device is inserted into or removed from the holder-side connector, between an installation position at which the device-side connector is interconnected with the holder-side connector, and a halt/detachment position at which the device-side connector is separated from the holder-side connector;
device locking mechanism having a device locking member provided movably on the holding member of the tray between an engagement/disengagement state with respect to a locking recess section provided in the radio device, for holding the radio device in the tray in such a manner that it is detachable therefrom by manual operation of an operator, when the tray is situated in the halt/detachment position;
lock stopper mechanism provided on the holder main unit, for restricting the device locking member of the device locking mechanism to an immovable state when the tray is situated at the installation position, and holding the radio device held in the tray in such a manner that it cannot be detached from the tray by the device locking mechanism;
tray impelling mechanism, interposed between the holder main unit and the tray, for impelling the tray constantly in a direction from the installation position towards the halt/detachment position, by means of a pressing force exceeding the interconnecting force between the holder-side connector and the device-side connector;
tray locking mechanism which comprises a tray locking member provided on the holder main unit to operate in a state engaged with or detached from the tray, and which fixes the tray in the installation position by engaging same with the tray situated at the installation position, and releases the engagement between the tray locking member and the tray by operation of an operating button provided on the tray locking member; and
tray stopper mechanism provided on the holder main unit, so that the tray stopper mechanism is abutted against the tray moving from the installation position to the halt/detachment position by the pressing force of the tray impelling mechanism, for causing the tray to stop at the halt/detachment position.
According to the foregoing composition, since the tray moving from the installation position towards the halt/detachment position due to the pressing force of the tray impelling mechanism is stopped at the halt/detachment position by the tray stopper mechanism provided on the holder main unit, it is possible to stop the tray reliably at the halt/detachment position, regardless of the magnitude of the pressing force on the tray caused by the impelling force of the tray impelling mechanism.
In other words, since the impelling force of the tray impelling mechanism pressing on the tray can be set appropriately within a wide range of selection, provided that it satisfies the condition of exceeding the interconnecting force between the holder-side connector and the device-side connector, no complex operations relating to the setting of the tray impelling mechanism are required in designing the on-vehicle holder.
Moreover, in the on-vehicle holder according to the embodiment of the invention, by situating the tray holding the radio device at the installation position, mechanical fixing and electrical connection between the on-vehicle holder and the radio device is achieved, whereas by situating the tray at the halt/detachment position, the mechanical fixing and electrical connection between the on-vehicle holder and radio device is released.
Moreover, in the on-vehicle holder according to the embodiment of the invention, since the tray holding the radio device is provided movably with respect to the holder main unit, in the direction in which the device-side connector on the radio device is attached or detached with respect to the holder-side connector on the holder main unit, then the device-side connector on the radio device held in the tray can be attached to and detached from the holder-side connector in a very smooth manner, without applying unwanted stress to the holder-side connector, by moving the tray between the halt/detachment position and the installation position.
Consequently, according to the on-vehicle holder of the present invention, smooth and reliable installation and detachment of the radio device with respect to the on-vehicle holder can be achieved, without requiring complicated setting tasks during design.